Revised Guidelines for NOAA's Community-based Restoration Program, 49578-49582 [05-16844]
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49578
Federal Register / Vol. 70, No. 163 / Wednesday, August 24, 2005 / Notices
implementation. NMFS is seeking
comments from interested parties on the
revised guidelines. One or more
constituent meetings are also planned to
solicit feedback on the Program and the
revised Program guidelines. This is not
Dated: August 18, 2005.
a solicitation of project proposals.
Steve Leathery,
DATES: Comments must be submitted by
Chief, Permits, Conservation and Education
Division, Office of Protected Resources,
email or mail by October 11, 2005. To
National Marine Fisheries Service.
support the continued evolution of the
[FR Doc. 05–16842 Filed 8–23–05; 8:45 am]
Program, and as part of the Program
Guidelines revision, the Restoration
BILLING CODE 3510–22–S
Center plans to solicit feedback through
one or more constituent meetings.
DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
Meetings will be limited to
approximately 30 participants and will
National Oceanic and Atmospheric
include facilitated break-out group
Administration
discussions to maximize feedback
results. The first meeting will be held on
[Docket No. 990907250–5223–03; I.D.
072905B]
September 13, 2005, in Washington D.C.
Subsequent meetings will be planned to
Revised Guidelines for NOAA’s
coincide with restoration-related
Community-based Restoration
conferences or meetings throughout
Program
2006 to enable constituent participation
without travel. These meetings will be
AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries
physically accessible to people with
Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and
disabilities. Requests for more
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA),
information regarding the September
Commerce.
meeting, including registration and
ACTION: Request for comments on
requests for sign language or other
proposed revisions to Program
auxiliary aids, should be directed to
Guidelines for the NOAA CommunityRobin Bruckner (see FOR FURTHER
based Restoration Program.
INFORMATION CONTACT).
SUMMARY: NMFS initiated a Community- ADDRESSES: Please send your comments
based Restoration Program (Program) in by email to: CRP.Guidelines@noaa.gov,
1996 that provides Federal financial and or by mail to: Director, NOAA
technical assistance to encourage locally Restoration Center, National Marine
led coastal and marine habitat
Fisheries Service, 1315 East West
restoration, and to promote stewardship Highway (F/HC3), Silver Spring, MD
and conservation values for NOAA trust 20910–3282.
resources. The Program is a systematic
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
national effort to foster partnerships at
Robin Bruckner, (301) 713–0174, or by
national, regional and local levels to
e-mail at Robin.Bruckner@noaa.gov.
implement sound habitat restoration.
Partnerships are forged between
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Proposed
government, not-for-profit
Guidelines for the NOAA Communityorganizations, community groups,
based Restoration Program were
recreational and commercial fishing
provided at 64 FR 53339, October 1,
organizations, students and educational 1999. In that document, comments were
institutions, businesses, youth
sought on modifications to the Program
conservation corps and private
that would allow greater flexibility to
landowners. Under the Program,
support community-based habitat
partners may contribute funding, land,
restoration projects. Final Program
technical assistance, workforce support
Guidelines, including responses to
or other in-kind services; promote local
comments, were provided at 65 FR
participation in habitat restoration
16890, March 30, 2000. Since the
activities; undertake research and
Guidelines were issued, the Program has
monitoring to evaluate and improve
experienced an increase in base funding
project success; and facilitate
and has subsequently implemented
stewardship for restored resources at the increased numbers of locally initiated,
local level. To date, the Program has
grass-roots habitat restoration projects
funded more than 1000 communitythrough partnerships at the local,
based habitat restoration projects in 27
regional and national levels. The NOAA
states, Canada, and the Caribbean.
Restoration Center within NMFS is
NMFS is issuing revised guidelines for
issuing revised guidelines, proposed
Program implementation for FY 2006
here, that reflect the evolution of the
and beyond, to reflect the evolution of
Program, including measures that are in
the program since its original
place or planned to enable the Program
radio/sonic transmitters attached to
their carapace, and would be
laparoscopied and bone biopsied.
Twenty loggerheads would be used in a
whelk gear bycatch reduction study.
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to demonstrate increased accountability
for the expenditure of public dollars.
Background
Habitat loss and degradation threaten
the long-term sustainability of the
nation’s fishery resources. Over 75
percent of commercial fisheries and 80
to 90 percent of recreational marine and
diadromous fishes depend on estuarine
or coastal habitats for all or part of their
life cycles. Protecting existing,
undamaged habitat is a priority and
should be combined with coastal habitat
restoration to enhance the functionality
of degraded habitat. Restored coastal
habitat will help rebuild fisheries stocks
and recover threatened and endangered
species. Restoring marine and coastal
habitats will help ensure that valuable
natural resources will be available to
future generations of Americans.
The purpose of this document is to
replace the Program Guidelines that
were published in 2000, and outline the
goals, objectives, and structure of the
Program that will guide its
implementation in FY 2006 and beyond.
This notice also references changes
made by NOAA to standardize
evaluation criteria for its competitive
grant programs. The Program will
provide annual notification regarding
the availability of funds through the
NOAA Omnibus Federal Register
Notice process and associated Federal
Funding Opportunity (FFO) detail, and
will solicit project proposals once a
year, or more.
Electronic Access
Information on the Program,
including partnerships and projects that
have been funded to date, can be found
on the World Wide Web at: https://
www.nmfs.noaa.gov/habitat/restoration.
Overview of Changes to the Program
Since the Program began,
Congressional appropriations have
increased from $250,000 in 1999 to
$13.6 million in 2005. To effectively
manage this growth, to provide better
service to constituents, and to
accurately report on the Program’s
accomplishments, the Restoration
Center has changed some of its practices
and implemented a number of tools to
increase efficiency and accountability.
In 2001 a Restoration Center database
was launched to track habitat acres
created, established, rehabilitated,
enhanced or protected; stream miles
made accessible to diadromous fish;
volunteer or community participation
hours; restoration techniques used;
habitat types and species benefited; and
other parameters for Restoration Center
supported projects. The database has
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increased NOAA staff efficiency and
allows the Restoration Center to respond
quickly and accurately to Congressional
and Administrative inquiries, such as
those on Program performance
measures, through reporting features
that can calculate the acreage or stream
miles restored by all projects completed
in any particular year, for example.
Recent enhancements to the database
include additional fields related to
environmental compliance, display and
collection of project locations through a
Geographic Information System (GIS)
based mapping application, and revised
parameters to facilitate data-sharing
with the National Estuaries Restoration
Inventory.
To evaluate the progress of the work
proposed under Program awards, to
determine whether projects were
successfully completed, and to facilitate
population of the database with projectspecific information, the Restoration
Center sought and received approval in
2004 from the Office of Management
and Budget (OMB) to collect detailed
project information from grantees. This
information, such as restoration
techniques used, species benefited,
geographic coordinates of project sites,
and monitoring and outreach
information, is now required as part of
semi-annual progress reporting. Before
April 2006, the Restoration Center plans
to seek renewed approval from OMB,
under the Paperwork Reduction Act, to
continue collecting this information.
In coordination with the Estuaries and
Clean Waters Act of 2000 (Public Law
106–457), the Restoration Center has
also begun requiring science-based
monitoring of restoration projects,
where appropriate, in an effort to
improve on-the-ground restoration
efforts and increase Program
effectiveness. Applicants requesting
funding to implement on-the-ground
habitat restoration projects that will
result in structural or functional habitat
changes must have clearly identified
goals (broad in scope) and specific,
measurable objectives. Evaluating these
objectives requires monitoring, during
the project period, of at least one
structural and one functional parameter,
as supported by Title I of the Estuaries
and Clean Waters Act of 2000 (Public
Law 106–457), to ensure a basic
assessment of project success. A fact
sheet with examples of structural and
functional monitoring parameters is
available on the World Wide Web at:
https://www.nmfs.noaa.gov/habitat/
restoration, and assistance in refining
the objectives and/or selecting
appropriate parameters is available from
Program staff.
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The Program anticipates that a limited
portion of annually available funds may
be used to support high quality,
quantitative monitoring projects to
advance the science and technology of
coastal and marine habitat restoration to
support the Restoration Center’s
Research Program area. Independent
applications emphasizing science-based
monitoring of previously completed
Community-based Restoration Program
projects may be accepted, however,
applications for research or monitoring
of projects not funded by the Program
will not be considered under annual
funding solicitations unless funding for
the Program increases significantly.
In conjunction with science-based
monitoring of projects, the Program will
begin assessing and monitoring the
human dimensions (demographic,
economic, psychological, cultural, and
ethical aspects) of habitat restoration.
Fostering a community’s and an
individual’s stewardship ethic is an
important component of the Program. It
is assumed with some certainty that
participating in on-the-ground
restoration projects cultivates and
promotes environmental stewardship;
however, the Program expects to begin
quantifying this assumption over the
next several years.
Both the Restoration Center Database
and implementation of minimum
monitoring requirements support
NOAA’s strategic plan and allow better
project tracking and evaluation of
performance measures. Revision of
habitat-related and other relevant
performance measures in coordination
with all major NOAA programs
involved with habitat restoration is
ongoing through NOAA’s Habitat
Program.
Program Goals and Objectives
The goals and objectives that have
defined the Program to date have not
changed. These include:
• Producing on-the-ground habitat
restoration within a relatively short time
period;
• Using a competitive, technical
review process, whenever possible, to
maximize opportunities for public
access to Program resources;
• Partnering with national and
regional organizations, as well as local
groups, to undertake habitat restoration;
• Offering NOAA technical expertise
in addition to financial assistance for
project design, implementation, and
environmental compliance;
• Leveraging NOAA’s financial
contribution by collaborating with other
governmental agencies, industry and
businesses, non-governmental and notfor-profit organizations, and academia;
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• Ensuring projects are monitored to
evaluate success and direct corrective
actions; and
• Encouraging long-term stewardship
and catalyzing future habitat restoration
projects.
In general, the Program’s objective is
to establish or supplement partnerships
to implement coastal and marine habitat
restoration projects that benefit NOAA
trust resources. Partnerships with
citizen groups, public and not-for-profit
organizations, industry, corporations
and businesses, youth conservation
corps, students, landowners, and local
government, and state and Federal
agencies are supported through the
provision of Federal financial and
technical assistance at national, regional
and local levels. Partners help identify
and secure additional funding, land,
technical assistance, workforce support
or other in-kind services to enable
citizens to improve locally important
habitats that sustain living marine and
coastal resources. Projects are most
often implemented in coastal and
nearshore marine and estuarine
environments and in riverine
environments that support diadromous
fish; expansion of the Program to the
Great Lakes is being considered, and
will be dependent on the NOAA Habitat
Program’s goals and Congressional
appropriations made for this purpose. It
is anticipated that any projects
supported in the Great Lakes region will
fall under these Program Guidelines.
The Program places emphasis on
habitat restoration projects with strong
community support and recognizes the
significant role that communities can
play in habitat restoration and
protection. Projects that incorporate
citizens’ ‘‘hands-on’’ involvement in
project implementation, monitoring, or
outreach and education are preferred.
The role of NOAA in the Program is to
strengthen the development and
implementation of sound restoration
projects. NOAA staff will continue to
provide guidance and technical
expertise on permitting, environmental
compliance, engineering and design,
and similar aspects required for project
implementation.
Successful applicants will be those
whose projects demonstrate
collaboration among entities such as
nonprofit organizations, citizen groups,
industry, youth conservation corps,
students, landowners, academics, local
government, and state, and federal
agencies to implement habitat
restoration projects. Projects should be
able to report a net gain in habitat acres
restored or stream miles re-established
for diadromous fish passage, and should
document volunteer involvement and a
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maximization of project partnerships.
Eligibility requirements will be detailed
in annual solicitations.
The NOAA Restoration Center uses
cooperative agreements focused at two
distinct levels of partnership as the
primary funding mechanism to
accomplish habitat restoration. Direct
project funding is announced annually
in NOAA’s Omnibus Federal Register
Notice. This opportunity focuses on
partnerships at the local level, and
project awards currently provide up to
$250,000 to support individual habitat
restoration projects, or a suite of well
developed restoration projects, for up to
24 months. National and Regional
Habitat Restoration Partnership funding
is announced every 3 years through the
NOAA Omnibus Federal Register
Notice. Partnership awards are up to 36
months in duration, are usually larger
than project awards, and specific
projects are often not identified at the
time of application. Partnership
applications outline the concept and
focus of habitat restoration activities
and detail the mechanism under which
individual projects will be identified
and subsequently funded as subawards
through the partner organization.
Partner organizations assume the
administrative responsibilities for
subawards, such as letting contracts and
managing progress and financial reports.
This allows NOAA staff to focus on
assisting with project implementation.
The next solicitation for national and
regional habitat restoration partnerships
is expected to be published in June
2006, for 2007–2010 funding.
Eligible Restoration Activities
Restoration may include, but is not
limited to, improvement of coastal
wetland tidal exchange or
reestablishment of historic hydrology;
dam or berm removal; improvement or
reestablishment of fish passage; reef/
substrate creation; establishment of
riparian buffer zones and improvement
of freshwater habitat features in
watersheds that support diadromous
fish; exclusionary fencing and planting;
invasive species removal; planting of
native coastal wetland and submerged
aquatic vegetation; and enhancement of
feeding, spawning and growth habitat
essential to marine or diadromous fish,
including degraded areas that
historically were important habitat for
living marine and coastal resources, and
through the restoration of which would
support these resources again.
Program Priorities
In general, restoration project
proposals will be expected to clearly
demonstrate anticipated benefits to
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specific NOAA trust resource habitats;
describe how these benefits will be
achieved through the proposed
restoration activities, and identify the
range of species expected to benefit.
NOAA trust resource habitats include
but are not limited to, estuaries, salt
marshes, seagrass beds, coral reefs,
shellfish reefs, mangrove forests, and
riparian habitat near rivers, streams and
creeks used by diadromous fish.
NMFS will emphasize selection of
restoration projects that address habitats
whose regional condition is
compromised due to loss,
fragmentation, presence of invasive
species, or loss of functionality. In
addition, habitat restoration projects
will be favored if they are socially and
economically important (e.g. will
benefit essential fish habitat that
supports commercial or recreational
fishery resources, or that improves
aesthetic and stewardship value of
NOAA trust resource habitats) within
their region. Within a given habitat,
priority will also be given to project
proposals that incorporate proven
effective restoration techniques, address
causes of habitat degradation/loss, and
maximize cost-effectiveness.
Since the inception of the Program,
West Coast projects have focused
primarily on restoration of salmonid
freshwater habitats. To broaden the
scope of funded projects in the Pacific
Northwest and California, the Program
may give priority to proposals for
projects that benefit multiple species,
including non-salmonid resources, and
projects that emphasize restoration of
marine and estuarine habitats. The
Program expects to continue to support
freshwater salmonid habitat restoration
efforts, however projects that benefit
multiple species including nonsalmonid marine resources may receive
greater funding consideration. In
addition, any salmonid project that
would occur where NOAA species
recovery planning efforts are underway
must be consistent with those planning
efforts.
While the primary focus of the
Program is to provide funding and
technical expertise to support on-theground implementation of fishery
habitat restoration projects that involve
an outreach and/or volunteer
component tied to the restoration
activities, the Program recognizes that
accomplishing restoration is a multifaceted effort involving project design,
engineering services, permitting, shortterm baseline studies, construction,
oversight, monitoring, and education
and outreach. In cases where on-theground funding for a project has been
secured or is deemed likely, and/or
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community support for a restoration
project is high, but pre-implementation
funding to conduct feasibility studies or
engineering and design is limiting a
project’s forward progress, the Program
reserves the right to consider funding
such pre-implementation activities.
Proposals emphasizing a singular
component, such as only education or
program coordination will be
discouraged, as will applications that
propose to expand an organization’s
day-to-day activities, or that primarily
seek support for administration,
salaries, overhead, and travel. Because
requests for habitat restoration funds
historically exceed funds available,
funding land purchase agreements,
conservation easements, and large
equipment purchases such as vehicles,
boats and similar items will receive low
priority.
Although NMFS recognizes that water
quality issues may impact habitat
restoration efforts, this Program is
intended to fund projects that target
physical and/or biological habitat
restoration rather than those that result
in direct water chemistry improvements
(i.e. wastewater treatment plant
upgrades or combined sewer outfall
corrections). Similarly, the following
restoration projects will not be eligible
for funding: (1) Activities that constitute
legally required mitigation for the
adverse effects of an activity regulated
or otherwise governed by local, state or
Federal law; (2) activities that constitute
restoration for natural resource damages
under Federal, state or local law; and (3)
activities that are required by a separate
consent decree, court order, statute or
regulation. Funds from this Program
may be sought to enhance restoration
activities beyond the scope legally
required by these activities.
Environmental Compliance
It is the applicant’s responsibility to
obtain all necessary Federal, state and
local government permits and approvals
for the proposed work. Applicants are
expected to design their projects so that
they minimize the potential for adverse
impacts to the environment. NOAA
must analyze the potential
environmental impacts, as required by
the National Environmental Policy Act
(NEPA), for applications that seek
NOAA funding. Proposals should
provide enough detail for NOAA to
make a NEPA determination. Successful
applications cannot be forwarded to the
NOAA Grants Management Division
with recommendations for funding until
NOAA completes necessary NEPA
documentation.
Consequently, as part of an
applicant’s package, and under the
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description of proposed activities,
applicants will be required to provide
detailed information on the activities to
be conducted, such as site locations,
species and habitat(s) to be affected,
possible construction activities, and any
environmental concerns that may exist
(e.g., the use of and/or disposal of
hazardous or toxic substances,
introduction of non-indigenous species,
impacts to endangered and threatened
species, impacts to coral reef systems,
etc.). For partnerships, where projectspecific details may not be available at
the time an award is made, partners
must meet the same environmental
compliance requirements on subsequent
sub-awards.
In addition to providing specific
information that will serve as the basis
for any required impact analyses,
applicants may also be required to assist
NOAA in drafting of an environmental
assessment if NOAA determines an
assessment is necessary and that one
does not already exist for the activities
proposed in the application. Applicants
will also be required to cooperate with
NOAA in identifying and implementing
feasible measures to reduce or avoid any
identified adverse environmental
impacts of their proposal. The selecting
official may decide, at the time of
proposal review, to recommend funding
a project in phases to enable an
applicant to provide information needed
for an environmental assessment,
feasibility analysis or similar activity if
a NEPA determination cannot be made
for all activities in a particular
application. The selecting official may
also impose special award conditions
that limit the use of funds for activities
that have outstanding environmental
compliance requirements. Special
award conditions may also be imposed
to ensure grantees consider and plan for
the safety of volunteers, and provide
appropriate credit for NOAA and other
contributors, for example.
Funding Sources and Dispersal
Mechanisms
The Restoration Center envisions
funding projects through cooperative
agreements and grants, contracts, joint
project agreements, and intra- and
interagency transfers, as appropriate.
A cooperative agreement is a legal
instrument reflecting a relationship
between NOAA and a recipient
whenever (1) the principal purpose of
the relationship is to provide financial
assistance to the recipient and (2)
substantial involvement is anticipated
between NOAA and the recipient during
performance of the contemplated
activity. A grant is similar to a
cooperative agreement, except that in
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the case of grants, substantial
involvement between NOAA and the
recipient is not anticipated during the
performance of the contemplated
activity. Financial assistance is the
transfer of money, property, services or
anything of value to a recipient in order
to accomplish a public purpose of
support or stimulation that is authorized
by Federal statute.
A contract is a procurement
instrument used when the primary
purpose is to acquire goods or services
for government use. Contracts may be
used by the Program when NOAA
directly implements priority restoration
projects.
The Secretary of Commerce has
authority to enter into joint project
agreements with not-for-profit, research,
or public organizations on matters of
mutual interest, the cost of which is
equitably apportioned. The principal
purpose of a joint project agreement
under this Program is to engage in a
collaborative and equitably apportioned
effort with a qualified organization on
matters of mutual interest.
For purposes of this Program,
interagency agreements are written
documents that contain specific
provisions of governing authorities,
agency responsibilities, and funding.
Such agreements are entered into
between NOAA and a reimbursing
Federal agency or between another
Federal agency and NOAA when NOAA
is the funding organization. Such
agreements will also require the
inclusion of a local sponsor for the
restoration project.
The instrument chosen will be based
on such factors as degree of direct
NOAA involvement with the project
beyond the provision of financial
assistance, the proportion of funds
invested in the project by NOAA and
the other organizations, and the
efficiency of the different mechanisms
to achieve the Program’s goals and
objectives. The Restoration Center will
determine which method is the most
appropriate based on the specific
circumstances of each project.
NOAA reserves the right to fund
individual projects directly, or through
partnership arrangements. The Program
will continue to create partnership
arrangements at the national and
regional level with organizations that
have similar goals for improving
fisheries habitat. Partnerships are a key
element that allows the Restoration
Center to significantly leverage the
funding available for on-the-ground
restoration. Partnerships also encourage
sharing and distribution of technical
expertise; they often improve
coordination between diverse
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organizations with common goals, and
they allow NOAA to reach larger and
more diverse communities that have
vested interests in fishery habitat
restoration.
The Restoration Center will function
in a clearinghouse capacity to help
develop and link high quality habitat
restoration proposals with other
potential funding sources whose
evaluation criteria contain similar
specifications for habitat enhancement.
This will provide greater exposure for
project ideas and increase the chances
for project proponents to secure
funding.
Each year, the Restoration Center
Director will determine the proportion
of Program funds that will be allocated
to National and Regional Habitat
Restoration Partnerships and the
proportion available for direct project
funding. The proportion will be
established annually and may depend
upon the amount of funds available
from partnership organizations to
leverage NOAA dollars and the ability
of partners to help NOAA fund a broad
array of projects over a wide geographic
distribution. A synopsis of the
partnership and/or project funding
opportunity will be published in
NOAA’s Omnibus Federal Register
Notice, typically in June of each year.
Potential applicants will be directed to
additional information contained in any
Federal Funding Opportunity (FFO)
announced on www.grants.gov. FFO’s
will contain a Funding Opportunity
Description, Award Information,
Eligibility Information, Application and
Submission Information, Application
Review and Selection Information,
Award Administration Information,
Administrative and National
Environmental Policy Act
Requirements, Agency Contacts, and
other information for potential
applicants.
The public should note that since
publication of the initial Program
Guidelines in 2000, NOAA has adopted
five standard evaluation criteria for all
its competitive grant programs, as
follows: (1) Importance and
Applicability of Proposal -This criterion
ascertains whether there is intrinsic
value in the proposed work and/or
relevance to NOAA, Federal, regional,
state or local activities; (2) Technical/
Scientific Merit This criterion assesses
whether the approach is technically
sound and/or innovative, if the methods
are appropriate, and whether there are
clear project goals and objectives; (3)
Overall Qualifications of Applicants
This criterion ascertains whether the
applicant possesses the necessary
education, experience, training,
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facilities, and administrative resources
to accomplish the project; (4) Project
Costs - This criterion evaluates the
budget to determine if it is realistic and
commensurate with the project needs
and time-frame; and (5) Outreach,
Education, and Community
Involvement - NOAA assesses whether
the project provides a focused and
effective education and outreach
strategy regarding NOAA’s mission.
Information on how these criteria are
specifically applied in the context of
Community-based Restoration Program
application evaluation are described
each year in the FFO, and are currently
available for the Program for FY 2006 on
www.grants.gov (funding opportunity
number NMFS-HCPO–2006–2000334).
Funding Ranges
In 2005, the Restoration Center
accepted proposals requesting between
$30,000 and $250,000; typical
restoration project awards range from
$50,000 to $200,000. This represents an
increase in upper and lower funding
ranges for projects from earlier Program
Guidelines. Funding at lower levels
(<$15,000) is no longer cost-effective
due to increasing operational costs
necessary to ensure environmental
compliance; funding fewer projects at
higher dollar amounts has also led to
increases in Program efficiency.
Awards for establishing multi-year,
National and Regional Habitat
Restoration ‘‘umbrella’’ Partnerships,
under which individual projects will be
jointly reviewed and prioritized for
funding, are anticipated to range
between $100,000 and $2.0 million,
with that range of funding anticipated to
be provided to successful partnerships
annually during a partnership’s
duration. Subsequent allocation of
funding during the multi-year award
period will be dependent on the
satisfactory performance of the partner
organization.
Project and Partnership solicitations
(FFO’s) will contain information on
funding ranges, the weighting of
NOAA’s standard evaluation criteria,
and additional factors that may be used
by the selecting official to recommend a
slate of projects to the Grants
Management Division to receive awards.
The number of awards and funding
ranges to be made in FY 2006 and
beyond will depend on the amount of
funds appropriated to the Program
annually by Congress.
Examples of Previously Funded Projects
The following examples are
community-based restoration projects
that have been funded with assistance
from the Restoration Center. These
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examples are only illustrative and are
not intended to limit the scope of future
proposals in any way.
Fish Ladder Construction
An impediment to fish passage was
corrected through the design and
construction of a step-pool fish ladder,
which now allows native steelhead trout
to reach their historic spawning
grounds.
Invasive Plant Removal
A coalition of volunteer groups called
‘‘Pepper busters’’ worked to remove
exotic Brazilian pepper plants and
replant native shoreline vegetation.
Salt Marsh Restoration
An undersized culvert was replaced
to increase the mean high water level in
the restricted portion of a marsh and
restore tidal flushing to 20 acres of salt
marsh.
Oyster Reef Restoration
Oyster reef habitat was increased by
reconstructing historic reefs and seeding
them with hatchery-produced seed
oysters grown in floating cages by
students.
Submerged Aquatic Vegetation
Restoration
An evaluation of the feasibility of
using volunteer divers to restore
seagrass was developed. A protocol was
created to train volunteers in water
quality monitoring and seagrass
transplantation techniques.
Kelp Forest Restoration
Community dive groups were trained
in kelp reforestation activities,
including the preparation, planting and
maintenance of kelp sites,
documentation of growth patterns, and
changes in marine life attracted to the
newly planted kelp areas.
Wetland Plant Nursery
An innovative wetland nursery
program was implemented in local high
schools, where science and ecology
classes build wetland nurseries on
campus to grow salt marsh grasses for
local restoration efforts.
Derelict Fishing Gear Removal
A pilot project consisted of
developing protocols and conducting
initial removal efforts. After surveying,
locating, and mapping derelict fishing
gear, a minimum of 11 tons of lost and
abandoned fishing gear was removed by
licensed and certified divers.
Nuisance Dam Removal
Two small stone dams blocked fish
migration, and degraded water quality
PO 00000
Frm 00029
Fmt 4703
Sfmt 4703
and prey habitat conditions for
anadromous fish. The dams, while only
several feet high, also presented a public
safety hazard. This project resulted in
opening stream habitat to anadromous
fish, restoring acres of tidal wetlands,
and removal of a public safety hazard.
Riparian Habitat Restoration
Youth corps members were trained in
the use of biorestoration and
stabilization techniques to restore
eroding riverbanks and improve habitat
for salmon smolt and other fish species.
Diadromous Fish Habitat Restoration
Highly functional salmonid and
wildlife habitat was restored with the
cooperation of private landowners by
opening silted enclosures along a slough
to provide refuge for juvenile salmonids
during the winter flood flows.
Dated: August 19, 2005.
William T. Hogarth,
Assistant Administrator for Fisheries,
National Marine Fisheries. Service.
[FR Doc. 05–16844 Filed 8–23–05; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510–22–S
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Information Collection; Submission for
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entitled AmeriCorps*VISTA Progress
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(44 U.S.C. Chapter 35). Copies of this
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documentation, may be obtained by
calling the Corporation for National and
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E:\FR\FM\24AUN1.SGM
24AUN1
Agencies
[Federal Register Volume 70, Number 163 (Wednesday, August 24, 2005)]
[Notices]
[Pages 49578-49582]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 05-16844]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
[Docket No. 990907250-5223-03; I.D. 072905B]
Revised Guidelines for NOAA's Community-based Restoration Program
AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Commerce.
ACTION: Request for comments on proposed revisions to Program
Guidelines for the NOAA Community-based Restoration Program.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: NMFS initiated a Community-based Restoration Program (Program)
in 1996 that provides Federal financial and technical assistance to
encourage locally led coastal and marine habitat restoration, and to
promote stewardship and conservation values for NOAA trust resources.
The Program is a systematic national effort to foster partnerships at
national, regional and local levels to implement sound habitat
restoration. Partnerships are forged between government, not-for-profit
organizations, community groups, recreational and commercial fishing
organizations, students and educational institutions, businesses, youth
conservation corps and private landowners. Under the Program, partners
may contribute funding, land, technical assistance, workforce support
or other in-kind services; promote local participation in habitat
restoration activities; undertake research and monitoring to evaluate
and improve project success; and facilitate stewardship for restored
resources at the local level. To date, the Program has funded more than
1000 community-based habitat restoration projects in 27 states, Canada,
and the Caribbean. NMFS is issuing revised guidelines for Program
implementation for FY 2006 and beyond, to reflect the evolution of the
program since its original implementation. NMFS is seeking comments
from interested parties on the revised guidelines. One or more
constituent meetings are also planned to solicit feedback on the
Program and the revised Program guidelines. This is not a solicitation
of project proposals.
DATES: Comments must be submitted by email or mail by October 11, 2005.
To support the continued evolution of the Program, and as part of the
Program Guidelines revision, the Restoration Center plans to solicit
feedback through one or more constituent meetings. Meetings will be
limited to approximately 30 participants and will include facilitated
break-out group discussions to maximize feedback results. The first
meeting will be held on September 13, 2005, in Washington D.C.
Subsequent meetings will be planned to coincide with restoration-
related conferences or meetings throughout 2006 to enable constituent
participation without travel. These meetings will be physically
accessible to people with disabilities. Requests for more information
regarding the September meeting, including registration and requests
for sign language or other auxiliary aids, should be directed to Robin
Bruckner (see FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT).
ADDRESSES: Please send your comments by email to:
CRP.Guidelines@noaa.gov, or by mail to: Director, NOAA Restoration
Center, National Marine Fisheries Service, 1315 East West Highway (F/
HC3), Silver Spring, MD 20910-3282.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Robin Bruckner, (301) 713-0174, or by
e-mail at Robin.Bruckner@noaa.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Proposed Guidelines for the NOAA Community-
based Restoration Program were provided at 64 FR 53339, October 1,
1999. In that document, comments were sought on modifications to the
Program that would allow greater flexibility to support community-based
habitat restoration projects. Final Program Guidelines, including
responses to comments, were provided at 65 FR 16890, March 30, 2000.
Since the Guidelines were issued, the Program has experienced an
increase in base funding and has subsequently implemented increased
numbers of locally initiated, grass-roots habitat restoration projects
through partnerships at the local, regional and national levels. The
NOAA Restoration Center within NMFS is issuing revised guidelines,
proposed here, that reflect the evolution of the Program, including
measures that are in place or planned to enable the Program to
demonstrate increased accountability for the expenditure of public
dollars.
Background
Habitat loss and degradation threaten the long-term sustainability
of the nation's fishery resources. Over 75 percent of commercial
fisheries and 80 to 90 percent of recreational marine and diadromous
fishes depend on estuarine or coastal habitats for all or part of their
life cycles. Protecting existing, undamaged habitat is a priority and
should be combined with coastal habitat restoration to enhance the
functionality of degraded habitat. Restored coastal habitat will help
rebuild fisheries stocks and recover threatened and endangered species.
Restoring marine and coastal habitats will help ensure that valuable
natural resources will be available to future generations of Americans.
The purpose of this document is to replace the Program Guidelines
that were published in 2000, and outline the goals, objectives, and
structure of the Program that will guide its implementation in FY 2006
and beyond. This notice also references changes made by NOAA to
standardize evaluation criteria for its competitive grant programs. The
Program will provide annual notification regarding the availability of
funds through the NOAA Omnibus Federal Register Notice process and
associated Federal Funding Opportunity (FFO) detail, and will solicit
project proposals once a year, or more.
Electronic Access
Information on the Program, including partnerships and projects
that have been funded to date, can be found on the World Wide Web at:
https://www.nmfs.noaa.gov/habitat/restoration.
Overview of Changes to the Program
Since the Program began, Congressional appropriations have
increased from $250,000 in 1999 to $13.6 million in 2005. To
effectively manage this growth, to provide better service to
constituents, and to accurately report on the Program's
accomplishments, the Restoration Center has changed some of its
practices and implemented a number of tools to increase efficiency and
accountability.
In 2001 a Restoration Center database was launched to track habitat
acres created, established, rehabilitated, enhanced or protected;
stream miles made accessible to diadromous fish; volunteer or community
participation hours; restoration techniques used; habitat types and
species benefited; and other parameters for Restoration Center
supported projects. The database has
[[Page 49579]]
increased NOAA staff efficiency and allows the Restoration Center to
respond quickly and accurately to Congressional and Administrative
inquiries, such as those on Program performance measures, through
reporting features that can calculate the acreage or stream miles
restored by all projects completed in any particular year, for example.
Recent enhancements to the database include additional fields related
to environmental compliance, display and collection of project
locations through a Geographic Information System (GIS) based mapping
application, and revised parameters to facilitate data-sharing with the
National Estuaries Restoration Inventory.
To evaluate the progress of the work proposed under Program awards,
to determine whether projects were successfully completed, and to
facilitate population of the database with project-specific
information, the Restoration Center sought and received approval in
2004 from the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to collect detailed
project information from grantees. This information, such as
restoration techniques used, species benefited, geographic coordinates
of project sites, and monitoring and outreach information, is now
required as part of semi-annual progress reporting. Before April 2006,
the Restoration Center plans to seek renewed approval from OMB, under
the Paperwork Reduction Act, to continue collecting this information.
In coordination with the Estuaries and Clean Waters Act of 2000
(Public Law 106-457), the Restoration Center has also begun requiring
science-based monitoring of restoration projects, where appropriate, in
an effort to improve on-the-ground restoration efforts and increase
Program effectiveness. Applicants requesting funding to implement on-
the-ground habitat restoration projects that will result in structural
or functional habitat changes must have clearly identified goals (broad
in scope) and specific, measurable objectives. Evaluating these
objectives requires monitoring, during the project period, of at least
one structural and one functional parameter, as supported by Title I of
the Estuaries and Clean Waters Act of 2000 (Public Law 106-457), to
ensure a basic assessment of project success. A fact sheet with
examples of structural and functional monitoring parameters is
available on the World Wide Web at: https://www.nmfs.noaa.gov/habitat/
restoration, and assistance in refining the objectives and/or selecting
appropriate parameters is available from Program staff.
The Program anticipates that a limited portion of annually
available funds may be used to support high quality, quantitative
monitoring projects to advance the science and technology of coastal
and marine habitat restoration to support the Restoration Center's
Research Program area. Independent applications emphasizing science-
based monitoring of previously completed Community-based Restoration
Program projects may be accepted, however, applications for research or
monitoring of projects not funded by the Program will not be considered
under annual funding solicitations unless funding for the Program
increases significantly.
In conjunction with science-based monitoring of projects, the
Program will begin assessing and monitoring the human dimensions
(demographic, economic, psychological, cultural, and ethical aspects)
of habitat restoration. Fostering a community's and an individual's
stewardship ethic is an important component of the Program. It is
assumed with some certainty that participating in on-the-ground
restoration projects cultivates and promotes environmental stewardship;
however, the Program expects to begin quantifying this assumption over
the next several years.
Both the Restoration Center Database and implementation of minimum
monitoring requirements support NOAA's strategic plan and allow better
project tracking and evaluation of performance measures. Revision of
habitat-related and other relevant performance measures in coordination
with all major NOAA programs involved with habitat restoration is
ongoing through NOAA's Habitat Program.
Program Goals and Objectives
The goals and objectives that have defined the Program to date have
not changed. These include:
Producing on-the-ground habitat restoration within a
relatively short time period;
Using a competitive, technical review process, whenever
possible, to maximize opportunities for public access to Program
resources;
Partnering with national and regional organizations, as
well as local groups, to undertake habitat restoration;
Offering NOAA technical expertise in addition to financial
assistance for project design, implementation, and environmental
compliance;
Leveraging NOAA's financial contribution by collaborating
with other governmental agencies, industry and businesses, non-
governmental and not-for-profit organizations, and academia;
Ensuring projects are monitored to evaluate success and
direct corrective actions; and
Encouraging long-term stewardship and catalyzing future
habitat restoration projects.
In general, the Program's objective is to establish or supplement
partnerships to implement coastal and marine habitat restoration
projects that benefit NOAA trust resources. Partnerships with citizen
groups, public and not-for-profit organizations, industry, corporations
and businesses, youth conservation corps, students, landowners, and
local government, and state and Federal agencies are supported through
the provision of Federal financial and technical assistance at
national, regional and local levels. Partners help identify and secure
additional funding, land, technical assistance, workforce support or
other in-kind services to enable citizens to improve locally important
habitats that sustain living marine and coastal resources. Projects are
most often implemented in coastal and nearshore marine and estuarine
environments and in riverine environments that support diadromous fish;
expansion of the Program to the Great Lakes is being considered, and
will be dependent on the NOAA Habitat Program's goals and Congressional
appropriations made for this purpose. It is anticipated that any
projects supported in the Great Lakes region will fall under these
Program Guidelines.
The Program places emphasis on habitat restoration projects with
strong community support and recognizes the significant role that
communities can play in habitat restoration and protection. Projects
that incorporate citizens' ``hands-on'' involvement in project
implementation, monitoring, or outreach and education are preferred.
The role of NOAA in the Program is to strengthen the development and
implementation of sound restoration projects. NOAA staff will continue
to provide guidance and technical expertise on permitting,
environmental compliance, engineering and design, and similar aspects
required for project implementation.
Successful applicants will be those whose projects demonstrate
collaboration among entities such as nonprofit organizations, citizen
groups, industry, youth conservation corps, students, landowners,
academics, local government, and state, and federal agencies to
implement habitat restoration projects. Projects should be able to
report a net gain in habitat acres restored or stream miles re-
established for diadromous fish passage, and should document volunteer
involvement and a
[[Page 49580]]
maximization of project partnerships. Eligibility requirements will be
detailed in annual solicitations.
The NOAA Restoration Center uses cooperative agreements focused at
two distinct levels of partnership as the primary funding mechanism to
accomplish habitat restoration. Direct project funding is announced
annually in NOAA's Omnibus Federal Register Notice. This opportunity
focuses on partnerships at the local level, and project awards
currently provide up to $250,000 to support individual habitat
restoration projects, or a suite of well developed restoration
projects, for up to 24 months. National and Regional Habitat
Restoration Partnership funding is announced every 3 years through the
NOAA Omnibus Federal Register Notice. Partnership awards are up to 36
months in duration, are usually larger than project awards, and
specific projects are often not identified at the time of application.
Partnership applications outline the concept and focus of habitat
restoration activities and detail the mechanism under which individual
projects will be identified and subsequently funded as subawards
through the partner organization. Partner organizations assume the
administrative responsibilities for subawards, such as letting
contracts and managing progress and financial reports. This allows NOAA
staff to focus on assisting with project implementation. The next
solicitation for national and regional habitat restoration partnerships
is expected to be published in June 2006, for 2007-2010 funding.
Eligible Restoration Activities
Restoration may include, but is not limited to, improvement of
coastal wetland tidal exchange or reestablishment of historic
hydrology; dam or berm removal; improvement or reestablishment of fish
passage; reef/substrate creation; establishment of riparian buffer
zones and improvement of freshwater habitat features in watersheds that
support diadromous fish; exclusionary fencing and planting; invasive
species removal; planting of native coastal wetland and submerged
aquatic vegetation; and enhancement of feeding, spawning and growth
habitat essential to marine or diadromous fish, including degraded
areas that historically were important habitat for living marine and
coastal resources, and through the restoration of which would support
these resources again.
Program Priorities
In general, restoration project proposals will be expected to
clearly demonstrate anticipated benefits to specific NOAA trust
resource habitats; describe how these benefits will be achieved through
the proposed restoration activities, and identify the range of species
expected to benefit. NOAA trust resource habitats include but are not
limited to, estuaries, salt marshes, seagrass beds, coral reefs,
shellfish reefs, mangrove forests, and riparian habitat near rivers,
streams and creeks used by diadromous fish.
NMFS will emphasize selection of restoration projects that address
habitats whose regional condition is compromised due to loss,
fragmentation, presence of invasive species, or loss of functionality.
In addition, habitat restoration projects will be favored if they are
socially and economically important (e.g. will benefit essential fish
habitat that supports commercial or recreational fishery resources, or
that improves aesthetic and stewardship value of NOAA trust resource
habitats) within their region. Within a given habitat, priority will
also be given to project proposals that incorporate proven effective
restoration techniques, address causes of habitat degradation/loss, and
maximize cost-effectiveness.
Since the inception of the Program, West Coast projects have
focused primarily on restoration of salmonid freshwater habitats. To
broaden the scope of funded projects in the Pacific Northwest and
California, the Program may give priority to proposals for projects
that benefit multiple species, including non-salmonid resources, and
projects that emphasize restoration of marine and estuarine habitats.
The Program expects to continue to support freshwater salmonid habitat
restoration efforts, however projects that benefit multiple species
including non-salmonid marine resources may receive greater funding
consideration. In addition, any salmonid project that would occur where
NOAA species recovery planning efforts are underway must be consistent
with those planning efforts.
While the primary focus of the Program is to provide funding and
technical expertise to support on-the-ground implementation of fishery
habitat restoration projects that involve an outreach and/or volunteer
component tied to the restoration activities, the Program recognizes
that accomplishing restoration is a multi-faceted effort involving
project design, engineering services, permitting, short-term baseline
studies, construction, oversight, monitoring, and education and
outreach. In cases where on-the-ground funding for a project has been
secured or is deemed likely, and/or community support for a restoration
project is high, but pre-implementation funding to conduct feasibility
studies or engineering and design is limiting a project's forward
progress, the Program reserves the right to consider funding such pre-
implementation activities. Proposals emphasizing a singular component,
such as only education or program coordination will be discouraged, as
will applications that propose to expand an organization's day-to-day
activities, or that primarily seek support for administration,
salaries, overhead, and travel. Because requests for habitat
restoration funds historically exceed funds available, funding land
purchase agreements, conservation easements, and large equipment
purchases such as vehicles, boats and similar items will receive low
priority.
Although NMFS recognizes that water quality issues may impact
habitat restoration efforts, this Program is intended to fund projects
that target physical and/or biological habitat restoration rather than
those that result in direct water chemistry improvements (i.e.
wastewater treatment plant upgrades or combined sewer outfall
corrections). Similarly, the following restoration projects will not be
eligible for funding: (1) Activities that constitute legally required
mitigation for the adverse effects of an activity regulated or
otherwise governed by local, state or Federal law; (2) activities that
constitute restoration for natural resource damages under Federal,
state or local law; and (3) activities that are required by a separate
consent decree, court order, statute or regulation. Funds from this
Program may be sought to enhance restoration activities beyond the
scope legally required by these activities.
Environmental Compliance
It is the applicant's responsibility to obtain all necessary
Federal, state and local government permits and approvals for the
proposed work. Applicants are expected to design their projects so that
they minimize the potential for adverse impacts to the environment.
NOAA must analyze the potential environmental impacts, as required by
the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), for applications that
seek NOAA funding. Proposals should provide enough detail for NOAA to
make a NEPA determination. Successful applications cannot be forwarded
to the NOAA Grants Management Division with recommendations for funding
until NOAA completes necessary NEPA documentation.
Consequently, as part of an applicant's package, and under the
[[Page 49581]]
description of proposed activities, applicants will be required to
provide detailed information on the activities to be conducted, such as
site locations, species and habitat(s) to be affected, possible
construction activities, and any environmental concerns that may exist
(e.g., the use of and/or disposal of hazardous or toxic substances,
introduction of non-indigenous species, impacts to endangered and
threatened species, impacts to coral reef systems, etc.). For
partnerships, where project-specific details may not be available at
the time an award is made, partners must meet the same environmental
compliance requirements on subsequent sub-awards.
In addition to providing specific information that will serve as
the basis for any required impact analyses, applicants may also be
required to assist NOAA in drafting of an environmental assessment if
NOAA determines an assessment is necessary and that one does not
already exist for the activities proposed in the application.
Applicants will also be required to cooperate with NOAA in identifying
and implementing feasible measures to reduce or avoid any identified
adverse environmental impacts of their proposal. The selecting official
may decide, at the time of proposal review, to recommend funding a
project in phases to enable an applicant to provide information needed
for an environmental assessment, feasibility analysis or similar
activity if a NEPA determination cannot be made for all activities in a
particular application. The selecting official may also impose special
award conditions that limit the use of funds for activities that have
outstanding environmental compliance requirements. Special award
conditions may also be imposed to ensure grantees consider and plan for
the safety of volunteers, and provide appropriate credit for NOAA and
other contributors, for example.
Funding Sources and Dispersal Mechanisms
The Restoration Center envisions funding projects through
cooperative agreements and grants, contracts, joint project agreements,
and intra- and interagency transfers, as appropriate.
A cooperative agreement is a legal instrument reflecting a
relationship between NOAA and a recipient whenever (1) the principal
purpose of the relationship is to provide financial assistance to the
recipient and (2) substantial involvement is anticipated between NOAA
and the recipient during performance of the contemplated activity. A
grant is similar to a cooperative agreement, except that in the case of
grants, substantial involvement between NOAA and the recipient is not
anticipated during the performance of the contemplated activity.
Financial assistance is the transfer of money, property, services or
anything of value to a recipient in order to accomplish a public
purpose of support or stimulation that is authorized by Federal
statute.
A contract is a procurement instrument used when the primary
purpose is to acquire goods or services for government use. Contracts
may be used by the Program when NOAA directly implements priority
restoration projects.
The Secretary of Commerce has authority to enter into joint project
agreements with not-for-profit, research, or public organizations on
matters of mutual interest, the cost of which is equitably apportioned.
The principal purpose of a joint project agreement under this Program
is to engage in a collaborative and equitably apportioned effort with a
qualified organization on matters of mutual interest.
For purposes of this Program, interagency agreements are written
documents that contain specific provisions of governing authorities,
agency responsibilities, and funding. Such agreements are entered into
between NOAA and a reimbursing Federal agency or between another
Federal agency and NOAA when NOAA is the funding organization. Such
agreements will also require the inclusion of a local sponsor for the
restoration project.
The instrument chosen will be based on such factors as degree of
direct NOAA involvement with the project beyond the provision of
financial assistance, the proportion of funds invested in the project
by NOAA and the other organizations, and the efficiency of the
different mechanisms to achieve the Program's goals and objectives. The
Restoration Center will determine which method is the most appropriate
based on the specific circumstances of each project.
NOAA reserves the right to fund individual projects directly, or
through partnership arrangements. The Program will continue to create
partnership arrangements at the national and regional level with
organizations that have similar goals for improving fisheries habitat.
Partnerships are a key element that allows the Restoration Center to
significantly leverage the funding available for on-the-ground
restoration. Partnerships also encourage sharing and distribution of
technical expertise; they often improve coordination between diverse
organizations with common goals, and they allow NOAA to reach larger
and more diverse communities that have vested interests in fishery
habitat restoration.
The Restoration Center will function in a clearinghouse capacity to
help develop and link high quality habitat restoration proposals with
other potential funding sources whose evaluation criteria contain
similar specifications for habitat enhancement. This will provide
greater exposure for project ideas and increase the chances for project
proponents to secure funding.
Each year, the Restoration Center Director will determine the
proportion of Program funds that will be allocated to National and
Regional Habitat Restoration Partnerships and the proportion available
for direct project funding. The proportion will be established annually
and may depend upon the amount of funds available from partnership
organizations to leverage NOAA dollars and the ability of partners to
help NOAA fund a broad array of projects over a wide geographic
distribution. A synopsis of the partnership and/or project funding
opportunity will be published in NOAA's Omnibus Federal Register
Notice, typically in June of each year. Potential applicants will be
directed to additional information contained in any Federal Funding
Opportunity (FFO) announced on www.grants.gov. FFO's will contain a
Funding Opportunity Description, Award Information, Eligibility
Information, Application and Submission Information, Application Review
and Selection Information, Award Administration Information,
Administrative and National Environmental Policy Act Requirements,
Agency Contacts, and other information for potential applicants.
The public should note that since publication of the initial
Program Guidelines in 2000, NOAA has adopted five standard evaluation
criteria for all its competitive grant programs, as follows: (1)
Importance and Applicability of Proposal -This criterion ascertains
whether there is intrinsic value in the proposed work and/or relevance
to NOAA, Federal, regional, state or local activities; (2) Technical/
Scientific Merit This criterion assesses whether the approach is
technically sound and/or innovative, if the methods are appropriate,
and whether there are clear project goals and objectives; (3) Overall
Qualifications of Applicants This criterion ascertains whether the
applicant possesses the necessary education, experience, training,
[[Page 49582]]
facilities, and administrative resources to accomplish the project; (4)
Project Costs - This criterion evaluates the budget to determine if it
is realistic and commensurate with the project needs and time-frame;
and (5) Outreach, Education, and Community Involvement - NOAA assesses
whether the project provides a focused and effective education and
outreach strategy regarding NOAA's mission. Information on how these
criteria are specifically applied in the context of Community-based
Restoration Program application evaluation are described each year in
the FFO, and are currently available for the Program for FY 2006 on
www.grants.gov (funding opportunity number NMFS-HCPO-2006-2000334).
Funding Ranges
In 2005, the Restoration Center accepted proposals requesting
between $30,000 and $250,000; typical restoration project awards range
from $50,000 to $200,000. This represents an increase in upper and
lower funding ranges for projects from earlier Program Guidelines.
Funding at lower levels (<$15,000) is no longer cost-effective due to
increasing operational costs necessary to ensure environmental
compliance; funding fewer projects at higher dollar amounts has also
led to increases in Program efficiency.
Awards for establishing multi-year, National and Regional Habitat
Restoration ``umbrella'' Partnerships, under which individual projects
will be jointly reviewed and prioritized for funding, are anticipated
to range between $100,000 and $2.0 million, with that range of funding
anticipated to be provided to successful partnerships annually during a
partnership's duration. Subsequent allocation of funding during the
multi-year award period will be dependent on the satisfactory
performance of the partner organization.
Project and Partnership solicitations (FFO's) will contain
information on funding ranges, the weighting of NOAA's standard
evaluation criteria, and additional factors that may be used by the
selecting official to recommend a slate of projects to the Grants
Management Division to receive awards. The number of awards and funding
ranges to be made in FY 2006 and beyond will depend on the amount of
funds appropriated to the Program annually by Congress.
Examples of Previously Funded Projects
The following examples are community-based restoration projects
that have been funded with assistance from the Restoration Center.
These examples are only illustrative and are not intended to limit the
scope of future proposals in any way.
Fish Ladder Construction
An impediment to fish passage was corrected through the design and
construction of a step-pool fish ladder, which now allows native
steelhead trout to reach their historic spawning grounds.
Invasive Plant Removal
A coalition of volunteer groups called ``Pepper busters'' worked to
remove exotic Brazilian pepper plants and replant native shoreline
vegetation.
Salt Marsh Restoration
An undersized culvert was replaced to increase the mean high water
level in the restricted portion of a marsh and restore tidal flushing
to 20 acres of salt marsh.
Oyster Reef Restoration
Oyster reef habitat was increased by reconstructing historic reefs
and seeding them with hatchery-produced seed oysters grown in floating
cages by students.
Submerged Aquatic Vegetation Restoration
An evaluation of the feasibility of using volunteer divers to
restore seagrass was developed. A protocol was created to train
volunteers in water quality monitoring and seagrass transplantation
techniques.
Kelp Forest Restoration
Community dive groups were trained in kelp reforestation
activities, including the preparation, planting and maintenance of kelp
sites, documentation of growth patterns, and changes in marine life
attracted to the newly planted kelp areas.
Wetland Plant Nursery
An innovative wetland nursery program was implemented in local high
schools, where science and ecology classes build wetland nurseries on
campus to grow salt marsh grasses for local restoration efforts.
Derelict Fishing Gear Removal
A pilot project consisted of developing protocols and conducting
initial removal efforts. After surveying, locating, and mapping
derelict fishing gear, a minimum of 11 tons of lost and abandoned
fishing gear was removed by licensed and certified divers.
Nuisance Dam Removal
Two small stone dams blocked fish migration, and degraded water
quality and prey habitat conditions for anadromous fish. The dams,
while only several feet high, also presented a public safety hazard.
This project resulted in opening stream habitat to anadromous fish,
restoring acres of tidal wetlands, and removal of a public safety
hazard.
Riparian Habitat Restoration
Youth corps members were trained in the use of biorestoration and
stabilization techniques to restore eroding riverbanks and improve
habitat for salmon smolt and other fish species.
Diadromous Fish Habitat Restoration
Highly functional salmonid and wildlife habitat was restored with
the cooperation of private landowners by opening silted enclosures
along a slough to provide refuge for juvenile salmonids during the
winter flood flows.
Dated: August 19, 2005.
William T. Hogarth,
Assistant Administrator for Fisheries, National Marine Fisheries.
Service.
[FR Doc. 05-16844 Filed 8-23-05; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-S